Eze smashed a brilliant half-volleyed effort past Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Janis Bleswich before Declan Rice added a clever second on the other side of half-time as Arsenal beat the Germans 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night to seal a 3-1 triumph on aggregate.
The 27-year-old has experienced a stop-start debut season in north London after joining in August from Crystal Palace.
But Arteta believes Eze is finally starting to hit the form he showed with the Eagles as Arsenal pursue an unprecedented quadruple this season.
“We needed a magical moment from Ebs to score a wonderful goal, a wonderful strike to give us the lead,” said Arteta in his post-match press conference.
“I think he’s playing every three days now. He has the rhythm, and he has the understanding with his teammates of what we want.
“Especially his level of activity with the ball, without the ball, in the spaces that he moves, the purpose, the purpose that he’s showing every time he’s in and around the box as well, which is the reason why he’s here, to create those kinds of moments.
“I’m comparing the minutes that he’s ever played in his career. He’s much higher right now than any other season. So that tells you as well the consistency that he’s showing.
“He’s always fit. Today, he had to come off because he’s got a lot of minutes in him, but he’s handling the pressure, the situation and the expectations very well,” added the Arsenal boss.
Arsenal played with swagger and authority against Leverkusen on Tuesday – a stark contrast to the underwhelming performance that they delivered in Germany last week.
Arteta, basking in the glory of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the third successive season, said: “In the second half, we had periods of domination, but they dominated as well because they are a really good side, and they are really good at what they do. Declan’s action opens the opportunity to go on and win the game and the tie.
The Gunners controlled the second leg throughout and should have put further distance between themselves and their German opposition, with several opportunities missed to extend their advantage.
Boasting a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League over nearest rival Manchester City, Arsenal travel to Wembley on Sunday for the Carabao Cup final against Pep Guardiola’s side in search of silverware for the first time since 2020.